I was inspired to write this poem by Merck’s Future of Work project, and in particular the research of Andreas Steinle, and his visions for meaningful work. As our jobs become increasingly result-oriented it is likely that the traditional 9-to-5 workday will soon be a thing of the past. Could it also be that improvements in Artificial Intelligence would allow for the automation of repetitive tasks, making a 20-hour working week (at the same pay!) a standard for many employers? Whilst this might seem far-fetched, in the 1800s, it was common for people in manufacturing to work nearly 100 hours per week. Thankfully, the eight-day movement, led by Robert Owen (a Welsh textile manufacturer and social reformer) in 1817 under the slogan “Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest” helped to regulate the working day for UK citizens.

According to the latest statistics, full-time employers in the UK were found to work on average 42.3 hours a week, which is the highest amongst all EU countries. It will be fascinating to see how future practices and innovations reduce this number, and also the extent to which this reduction will be reflected in different sectors – some of which are certainly more reliant on repetitive tasks than others…

Disclaimer: This post has been produced in cooperation with Merck. Merck is known as Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the United States & Canada.